Knitting machine



P 1953 R. H. ROUGHSEDGE ETAL 2,652,704

KNITTING MACHINE Filed July 22, 1948 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 Tlg i .'F1 11 BY rP 1953 R. H. ROUGHSEDGE ETAL 2,652,704

KNITTING MACHINE Filed July 22, 1948 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTORS ROBERTH. ROUGHSEJDGE HANS G. LUSTIG.

5 Sheets-Sheet 3 Sept. 22, 1953 R. H. ROUGHSEDGE ET AL KNITTING MACHINEFiled July 22, 1948 ep 22, 1953 R. H. ROUGHSYEDGE ETAL 2,652,704

KNITTING MACHINE INVENTORS ROBERT HROUGHSEDGE HANS G. LUSTIG.

Patented Sept. 22, 1953 UNITED sraras rarest tor-Flee G. Lustig,'NewYork, N. Y., assignors to Gelanese Corporation of America, a corporationof Delaware ApplicationJuly 22, 1948,:seria1,No.4o ,11t

19- Claims. 11

.;This invention relates to knitting machines, and :relates more-particularly to a 'noveliabric take-up mechanism of a warp knittingmachine. IIntheproduction o'i'kn'itted fabrics, it is customary to ,passthe fabric, after it leaves the knitting station, around a feed roll-toa cloth-roll or take-up roll upon whichithe fabricis wound, and whichholds 'from fifty to one Lhundredor more 'yards of f-fabric when "full.The'ieed roll is driven intermittently, in timed relation to theknitting cycle, to maintain aconstant tension 'on the fabric 'andjtodraw the. fabric from the .knitting "station at the proper instantduring the knitting of each course. The cloth-roll rests on theieed rollandfis driven through frictionalcontact therewith, but as knittingproceeds additional torque mustbe applied to the cloth-roll to obtain atight, uniform winding of the fabric. The need for this additionaltorque arisestfrom the fact that as the amount. of fabric on thecloth-roll increases the force necessary :to drive said ,cloth-roll mustbe transmitted irom'the feed roll through an everlargernumber of layersof warp-knitted fabric. Thus, although the, frictional contact betweenthe feed roll and the outer layer offabricon the cloth-roll issufiicient at alljtimes to avoid slippage therebetwe'en, the frictionalforces between the several layers of fabric. Wound. on said cloth-rollhave been ,found to. be inadequate'to provideffor driving the clothrollat a sufficiently high speed'to obtain a tight.-

1y wound roll. Instead/because :of the slippage which takes placehetweenthe "several layers :of fabric on the cloth-roll, it hasbeen'found that there is a tendency to produce an extremely loosewinding on "the said cloth-roll which is commercially unsatisfactory. Ithas-been found that-the-additional torque required to obtain a tight,uniform windingof the fabric increases from a minimum when thecloth-roll is empty,

to "a maximum when the cloth-roll is partly full,

view "of the warp knitting machine shown in Figure 1,

Figure 3 is a'detailview in cross-section of the driving mechanism for*the feed roll, taken on line =-3-3 in Figure 4, c

'Figure 4'is a-detail view in side-elevation of the driving mechanismfor-the feed roll,

"Figure 5 is 'a 'front-elevationalview, partly in section and on an-en1arged sca1e of the driven end of the feed roll,

Figurefi is a side-elevational view of the driving mechanism for thecloth-roll,

Figure 7' is a cross-sectional view of the driving'mechanism for thecloth-roll taken on line 1-"! in Figure 6,

Figure 8 is a cross-sectional view of the driving mechanism forthecloth-roll,

'Figure 9 is a detail view of the'barrel cam which forms a part of thedriving mechanism for the cloth-roll,

Figure l0 is 'a detail view 'ofthe ring cam which forms a part of thedri'ving' mechanism .means of knitting members :26. From theknitting'station fi the fabricpasses over a deflector bar-E7, underafeedroll iwzandis then wound on a cloth-roll "29. The feed rollxZB maybe: aaporcupine rollor' a roll-surfaced with :africti'on material:.su'ch as iemery'it'o :insure a positive grip .on thexifabric. Intorder:to obtaina quality fabric from "a high-speed; warp; knitting machine,it is ne'cessarytasohasbeen pointed out above, that the feed roll 28 bedriven in timed relation to the operation of the knitting members 26. Toinsure the proper sequence of operations, the feed roll 2?; ispositively driven by a driving mechanism, indicated generally byreference numeral 3 I from the cam shaft 32 which drives the knittingmembers 29 in a manner well known in the art.

The cam shaft 32, which is driven by any suitable means (not shown), isjournalled in frame members 33 and 34 and has an eccentric plate 35fixed to its left end by means of a key 31 held in place by a set screw38. The eccentric plate 36 is provided with ears 39 between which ismounted a second eccentric plate 4! having a plurality of slots 42 ineach end. The two eccentric plates are adjustably fastened to each otherby bolts 43 extending through the slots 42 and by screws 44 passingthrough the ears 39 to engage the ends of the plate 4|. An eccentricallymounted stub shaft 49 extends through the plate 4| and is held inposition by a flange 41 at the base thereof. Any desired degree ofeccentric motion may be imparted to the stub shaft 45 by shifting theposition of the eccentric plates relative to each other, such movementalso shifting the position of the stub shaft 45 relative to the camshaft 32.

Connecting rods 48 and 49 pivotally fastened to each other by means of abolt 59 are mounted between the stub shaft 46 and a ratchet shaft iii totransmit motion from the stub shaft to a ratchet wheel 52. Thus,connecting rod 49 is journalled on the stub shaft 46 and connecting rod49 is journalled on the shaft The latter connecting rod is provided witha pivotally mounted pawl 59, which together with a lock pawl arrangementindicated generally by reference numeral 54 drives the ratchet wheel 52.One end 56 of the pawl 59 is urged into engagement with teeth 51 on theratchet wheel 52 by means of spring 58 which is fastened between theother end of the pawl 53 and the connecting rod 48.

The lock pawl arrangement 54 is carried by a shaft 59, fastened in framemember 6| by a set screw 62, and said shaft has at its free end anenlarged head 63. Encircling the shaft 59 is a helical spring 64 havingone end fastened in a slot 66 in the head 63 and its other end securedto a pawl 61, the spring being adapted to urge the pawl into engagementwith the teeth 51. The spring pressure on the pawl 61 may be varied byloosening the set screw 62 and rotating the head 53 to obtain thedesired tension in the spring 64.

The ratchet wheel 52 is held on the ratchet shaft 5| by means of a key68 whereby the motion imparted to the ratchet wheel by the pawl 53 willbe transmitted to a bevel gear 69 mounted on the other end of theratchet shaft 5! by means of a key 19. The bevel gear 69 meshes with anddrives a second bevel gear H, which in turn drives a worm 12 through ashaft 13 journa'lled in a bearing bracket 14. The worm 12 meshes withand rotates a worm wheel which is attached to a shaft 16 by means of akey 11 held in position by a set screw 18. One end of the shaft 16 isfastened to and supports the feed roll 28, the rotation of shaft 16rotating the feed roll in timed relation to the knitting cycle. Theother end of the shaft 16 is journalled in a bearing 19 supported in theframe member 33, the shaft being held in the bearing 19 by means of acollar 80 fastened to the outer end of the shaft by a set screw 8|. Theother end of the feed roll is fastened to and supported by a shaft 82journalled in a bearing 83 carried in the other frame member 34.

The cloth-roll 29 is driven from the feed roll 28 by means of a take-updrive indicated generally by reference numeral 84 (Figs. 6, 7 and 8)which is shown partly enclosed within a cover 85. Power is transmittedfrom the feed roll 28 to the take-up drive 84 through a gear trainincluding a gear 89 fastened to the shaft 82 by a key 81, an idler gear88 freely mounted on a shaft 89, and a gear 99 fixed to a shaft 9! by akey 92. The shaft 9! carries an eccentric pin 93 which engages a slot 94in one end of an arm 95, the other end of which arm is pivotally mountedon shaft 82. Rotation of the pin 93 causes the arm 95 to. rock back andforth through a narrow are thereby driving a barrel cam 96counterclockwise by means of a pawl arrangement indicated generally byreference numeral 91 and a cooperating lock pawl arrangement indicatedgenerally by reference numeral 98. The pawl arrangement 91 includes ashaft 99 extending through and carried by the arm 94 and a pawl I 95mounted on one end of said shaft 99. Encircling the shaft 99 is ahelical spring 92 one end of which is fastened to the arm 95, and theother end of which is engaged in a slot I93 formed in enlarged head 194of the shaft 99. The spring I92 urges the shaft 99 counterclockwise andthereby moves the pawl I9! into driving engagement with teeth I96provided on the barrel cam 99. The lock pawl arrangement 98 is similarin construction and function to lock pawl arrangement 54 and is carriedby a shaft 501 having an enlarged integral head I08. A pawl I99 ismounted for rotation on said shaft I91 and a helical spring IIIencircles the said shaft. One end of the spring III is fastened in aslot H2 in the head I98 and the other end thereof is fastened to thepawl I09, thus urging the pawl into engagement with the teeth I96 on thebarrel cam 96. The teeth I96 do not extend completely around theperiphery of the barrel cam, being interrupted at two diametricallyopposed points H3 and H4, as a result of which the barrel cam 96 will bedriven through an angle of somewhat less than one hundred and eightydegrees by the continued operation of the pawl 91. Holes II5 areprovided in the barrel cam 96 and by inserting a spanner wrench in theseholes, it is possible to manually rotate the cam to any desiredposition.

The barrel cam 96 is slidably mounted on the shaft 82 and is providedwith a camrning surface II6 around its circumference. Cooperating withcamming surface H5 is a camming surface II1 of a ring cam II8, thelatter being mounted in the cover 95 by means of screws H9. The profilesof the camming surfaces I I6 and I I1 are shown in detail in Figure 11and include two identical gradual slopes l2! separated by two sharpslopes I22 spaced one hundred and eighty degrees apart.

In the starting position with the cloth-roll 29 empty, the cammingsurfaces I I6 and I I1 will be mutually engaged as shown in thedrawings. As the barrel cam 96 is rotated by the pawl 91 the cammingsurfaces will move relative to each other forcing the barrel caminwardly on the shaft 82, thereby compressing a helical spring I23 whichencircles said shaft, against a clutch plate I24 surfaced withfrictional material I25. The clutch plate I24, which is mounted on theshaft 82 by means of a key I21, bears against and drives a gear I28mounted on a ball bearing I29 for free rotation around-said: sh

aft. Asethe..spring;;pressure on the clutch plate I24isi:increased,.-it*;.will

,transmit a. greater ...driving; :forcezfremgt-he shaft -82 to the ,gear[28. :This "driving .force --w.ill be I3? seated in this keywaytransmitszthmdriving force ton-the sleeve I32: to ta -shaft 138;.mountedtherein and in. turn .to -a. universalrjoint I39 fastened:to-;one:end.r:of.-.isaid shaft. iFrom :the anniversal joint I39,:1the:force :is transmittedito 1811 I arm I4 I which :has one'end fastened:to' the .uni- :versal joint ISQJand whichhas its otherend-fastened',;.by2:means1.of aa. secondiuniversal joint I 42, toaaplugI43. .Said plug I43 is provided'witha key Wlcand stud let-which engage afitting M6 in the cloth-roll 29 and through which a -torqueisapplied'tosaid clothroll as knitting'proceeds.

:The plug Hi3 =is free torotate in-a -bearing I i-i carried-at one endof -an arm M8. The-other end oi-said arm Hit is provided with a-collar I48 which is fastened "to -shait I I 59' by means of a taper pin I5I.Said .shaft 1 I56 'is pivotally mounted-at one end in a bearingI52-and=at the 'other end ina bracket [53 permit the arm Mi; carryingthe plug I is-to rise as fabric is wound oncthe'cloth-roll ilfl. shaftt5G bysettcrews lde -areprovide'd on each sidetof the'bracket E53 toprevent'longitudinal motion of the shaft in its bearings.

'Ihe clothrll '29'issupported adjacent its left stud I '5 which engage afitting IEO on the clothro-il ts. 'LLike the plug $43, the plug IEI ismounted for free' rotation lna bearing It! at one endofanaarm I62 (Fig.l) the other end of which is mounted on the-shaft I by means of a"sleeve 33. Said "sleeve I (i3is' fastenedto-the -shaft Hill by means ofa wing-nut Its. A handle I56 is provided on the -plug I 5? whereby theentire assembly may be-shiftedamng-theshaft I59 to permit t-he clothrcll 'Zilto be" replaced and also to accommodate cloth rells of'difi'erentsizes.

Yfhen' hnitting' is to ice-started, an'empty clothroll 29 is mountedbetween the plugs'I43 an'd- I-5'I' and rests on the surface of the feedrollEB. At the same time, 'the "barrel cam '95 is rotatedcounterclockwise by means *o'f a spanner wrench engaging the: 1101655 5I fiuntilthe pawl: I M engages the first. ratchetvtooth I 36 clockwise"from i the section" I 23 of the harrel'icam $6. In this position"ofx'thefbarrel.canvtdathe1 slopes I2 I and I 1'22 :of the cammin'gsurfaces I [Stand i Iiewill be engaged as shown inv Figure ll of the:drawings randzthe cam will exert its minimum 1 force; on: thezc spring23; This .in .turn will.resultrinaa-minimmn ef force between thefrictional material I'ZBrand'the gear i 28 and ..a minimum.ofaaddedr'driving rtorque upon the cloth rollfid. .Dependingupontheparticular. results. desired, it. is ,possible to haveno added-torquewhatsoever appliedtothe cloth-roll 29 when. it isemptmand relysolelyuponthefrietional. drive from ,thefeecl roll '28. .It is, however,generally. preferable .to apply some added. torque to the cloth-roll "2tfrom the very "beginning. Furthermore, it-maybe found-desirable withsome fabrics to rotate the barrel "cam 96 "beyond "its initial point andthereby obtain-a larger' added torque upon the cloth-roll at the outset.

.when-iknitting: begins, the feed roll 2 8 will be driven :in"synchronism with the knittmg cycle through i the 'fee'd roll--*'driving 'rnechanism ill.

Collars" est fastened to the i .The rotation 50f :,the feed =::-rol1will operate -..-the takeeupidrive 8 4; and'supply. ,arminimum of:torque ztoj the :;cloth-ro1l"29,:: the magnitude of which dependppon the:designqofxthe take-upzidrive 8t 'andrthettinitial'settingof the-:barrelcam-96. :As knitting proceeds, thelbarrelrcami will be .:driven relative-t0fl'l6 ring cam H8 by means.of .paw1'IOI therebymompressingxthe.springI 23" andincreasingtthe' force betweenithe 'frictionaL-material. I26

and thegear I28. lThist'in turn will increasethe .torqueupon theiclothrolltnin proportion tothe amount .of fabricion the cleth roll..Thetorque on the cloth-roll 29 will. continue:toincreaseuntil the pawlIilI reaches the section I M of. the barrel ham-:56. i'In this positionof the barrel cam. 96, the'springf I23 will be compressed toitsgreatest'ex-tentfsince the slopes I 2 I Jof :the cammin'g surfaces wilL'be'shifted approximately one hundred and eighty :degreesrelative to eachother. This will result in a maximum of torque on the clothroll 29 whichtorquewill remain constant at this maximum value since thecontinued'motion of the pawl. II)! will no'longer be effective to drivethe barrel cam Satisfactory results are obtainablewhena little morethanhalf the fabric has been wound on the cloth-r0112!) before themaximum torque is reached, it having been found that no additionalincrease in torque is required beyond this "point. After the cloth-roll29 has been filled it is replaced by an empty cloth-roll and the barrelcam is again rotated counterclockwise until the pawl [M has cleared thesection lid of the barrel cam 98 after which the entire cycle isrepeated.

With the slopes I2I of the camming surfaces I it and I I 1 linear asshown in the drawings,the added torque will'also increase in anapproximately linear manner. It is possible, however, to vary theincrease intorque so that it is nonlinear, or even to have thetorque'decrease if this is found desirable by altering the slopes I'2lto correspond to the desired change in torque.

The angular rotation of the'feed roll'ziiinay be adjusted for fabricshaving a different number'of courses per inch by replacing the ratchetwheel 52 with another wheel having a different-number of teethand-simultaneously adjusting the stroke of the pawlfiti byshifting'theeccentric plate 5!. Any change in the angular'rotation' of the feedmu-2e willbe accompanied =by a corresponding change in thetorque-applied to the cloth-route since the cloth-rollis driven throughthe feed roll.

It is to be understood that theforegoing detailed'descriptionis givenmerely'by wayof illustrationandtthat many variations may be made thereinwithout: departing from the spirit of our invention.

.l laving described our invention, what we :de sire to :secure .byLetters Patent. is:

1. Fabric take-up means for warp-knitting machines and the like thecombination with a fabric take-up: roll, v(if-means for rotating saidtake-up roll and separate imeansior positively applying and. additionaltorque to said take-up roll.

2.'Fabric take-up means .for warpeknitting machines and the like, thecombination with a fabric take-up roll, of means operating in timedrelation to the knitting cycle for rotating. said take-up roll,and'means operatively connected to said take-41p roll rotatingmeans'iori positively applying an additional torque to saidtake-up-rcll.

3. Fabric take-up means for "warp-knitting machines and 'the a like, thecombination with a fabric take-up roll, of means operating in timedrelation to the knitting cycle for rotating said take-up roll, and meansoperatively connected to said take-up roll rotating means for positivelyapplying an additional torque to said take-up roll at predeterminedintervals.

4. Fabric take-up means for warp-knitting machines and the like, thecombination with a fabric take-up roll, of means operating in timedrelation to the knitting cycle for rotating said take-up roll, and meansoperatively connected to said take-up roll, rotating means forpositively applying an additional torque of varying magni- ,tude to saidtake-up roll.

5. Fabric take-up means for warp-knitting machines and the like, thecombination with means for drawing the knitted fabric from the knittingstation of the warp-knitting machine for warp-knitting machines and thelike, the combination with a u fabric feed roll and a fabric take-uproll rotated by said feed roll, of separate means for positivelyapplying an additional torque of varying magnitudc to said take-up rollat predetermined in tervals.

8. Fabric take-up means for warp-knitting machines and the like, thecombination with a fabric feed roll and a fabric take-up roll rotated bysaid feed roll, of separate means for positively applying a torque ofincreasing magnitude to said take-up roll and for holding the magnitudeon said torque constant after the winding on said take-up roll of apredetermined quantity of fabric.

9. Fabric take-up means for warp-knitting machines and the like, thecombination with a fabric feed roll and a fabric take-up roli rotated bysaid feed roll, of separate means for positively applying an additionaltorque to said take-up roll at predetermined intervals and means forincreasing the magnitude of said torque and for holding the magnitude ofsaid torque constant after the winding on said take-up roll of apredetermined quantity of fabric.

10. Fabric take-up means for warp-knitting machines and the like, thcombination with a fabric feed roll and a fabric take-up rollfrictionally rotated by said feed roll, of separate means operativelyconnected to said feed roll for positively applying an additional torqueof varying magnitude to said take-up roll.

11. Fabric take-up means for warp-knitting machines and the like, thecombination with a fabric feed roll and a fabric take-up roll resting onsaid feed roll, of clutch means driven through said feed roll forapplying a torque of Varying magnitude to said take-up roll.

12. Fabric take-up means for warp-knitting machines and the like, thecombination with a fabric feed roll and a fabric take-up roll resting onsaid feed roll, of means driven through said feed roll for applying atorque of increasing magnitude to said take-up roll and for holding themagnitude of said torque constant after a predetermined quantity offabric has been wound on said take-up roll.

13. Fabric take-up means for warp-knitting machines and the like, thecombination with a fabric feed roll and a fabric take-up roll resting onsaid feed roll, of clutch means driven through said feed roll forapplying a torque to said take-up roll, and cam means for varying themagnitude of the torque transmitted by said clutch means to said take-uproll.

14. Fabric take-up means for warp-knitting machines and the like, thecombination with a fabric feed roll and a fabric take-up roll resting onsaid feed roll, of clutch means driven through said feed roll forapplying a torque to said takeup roll, cam means for varying themagnitude of the torque transmitted by said clutch means, and ratchetmeans for driving said cam means to vary the magnitude of the torqueapplied to said takeup roll.

15. Fabric take-up means for warp-knitting machines and the like, thecombination with a fabric feed roll and a fabric take-up roll resting onsaid feed roll, of clutch means driven through said feed roll forapplying a torque to said take-up roll, cam means for varying themagnitude of the torque transmitted by said clutch means, and ratchetmeans for driving said cam means to vary the magnitude of the torqueapplied to said take-up roll, said ratchet means having an interruptedsection therein limiting the extent to which said cam means are driven,whereby the magnitude of the torque applied to said take-up roll remainsconstant after a predetermined quantity of fabric has been wound on saidtake-up roll.

16. Fabric take-up means for warp-knitting machines and the like, thecombination with a fabric feed roll and a fabric take-up roll, of meansdriven through said feed roll for applying a torque of varying magnitudeto said take-up roll.

17'. Fabric take-up means for warp-knitting machines and the like, thecombination with a fabric feed roll and a fabric take-up roll, of clutchmeans driven through said feed roll for applying a torque of varyingmagnitude to said take-up roll.

18. Fabric take-up means for warp-knitting machines and the like, thecombination with a fabric feed roll and a fabric take-up roll, of meansdriven through said feed roll for applying a torque of increasingmagnitude to said take-up roll and for holding the magnitude of saidtorque constant after a predetermined quantity of fabric has been woundon said take-up roll.

19. Fabric take-up means for warp-knitting machines and the like, thecombination with a fabric feed roll and a fabric take-up roll pivotallymounted to rest on said feed roll, of a friction clutch driven throughsaid feed roll for selectively applying a torque to said take-up roll, abarrel cam and a mating ring cam for increasing the clutch pressureendwise of said friction clutch to thereby increase the magnitude of thetorque applied to said take-up roll, ratchet teeth having an interruptedsection carried by said barrel cam, a ratchet pawl driven through saidfeed roll for driving said barrel cam through engagement with saidratchet teeth to increase said clutch pressure, the interruption in saidratchet teeth limiting the extent to which said ratchet pawl drives saidcam to thereby hold the magnitude of said torque constant after a pre- 9determined quantity of fabric has been wound on said take-up roll.

ROBERT H. ROUGHSEDGE. HANS G. LUS'I'IG.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS NumberName Date 345,130 Godshalk July 6, 1886 498,418 Wyman May 30, 1893764,771 Roy July 12, 1904 Number Number Name Date Burdett Nov. 24, 1931Quick Jan. 1, 1935 Kittel Aug. 17, 1937 Wirth Feb. 15, 1938 Lambach Jan. 2, 1940 Kellogg et a1 June 17, 1941 Reynolds Feb. 22, 1944 FOREIGNPATENTS Country Date Germany Nov. 6, 1915

